The city with the most people in all of Europe of course it’s going to be chaotic, but what about exotic? Istanbul has fantastic Roman empire sites, great mosques on seemingly every corner and an enormous palace from the Ottoman empire to explore and envision how the Sultans lived.
I had 5 nights, 4 full days and thought that would be plenty of time to see the most famous sites in Istanbul, plus cross the Bosphorus Strait to go to the Asia side of the city. Suprising to me, I saw my Top 3 must-see sights along with the Grand Bazaar on my first full day.
My Top 3 Istanbul Sites
- The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque from the Ottoman era and still a functioning mosque today.
- The Hagia Sophia Mosque, which was a church built during the Roman empire and in AD 537 was the world’s largest interior space.
- The Basilica Cistern built during the Roman period and used for water up to modern times, you’ll recognize this one from many famous movies.
The Blue Mosque
Blue, blue, why is it called the Blue Mosque?
There’s a couple of stories to the name, the first one is for the turquoise color of the handmade Iznik tiles along with the painted upper levels where blue is the main color. The second one is the fun one, ancient sailors who sailed by the mosque on the Marmara Sea saw the color of the sea reflected in the mosque.
Of course, the real name isn’t the Blue Mosque, it’s officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, named for the Sultan who had it built in 1609.
The interior decoration is beautiful and busy, and with a free enty it’s a BUSY place to visit as a tourist. I wandered by after 3pm, saw there wasn’t a wait and went on in.
75% of the walls above the tile work are painted with floral arabesques and calligraphic inscriptions, a very busy interior indeed.
The mosque can hold 10,000 worsippers. During prayer time visitors are not allowed of course, so opening times vary depending on the position of the sun – typically daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening.
Even without a wait outside there were plenty of people inside, not a serene atmosphere at all especially with all the people trying to do photo shoots and pretend they were the only ones there. But it’s the famous Blue Mosque so of course you have to see it!
Tips for visiting:
- You must take your shoes off – there are shoe cabinets inside but it’s a very busy place and carrying your shoes is just easier. Shoes never touch the carpeted floor.
- Women must cover their hair and shoulders, if you don’t have a scarf they will loan you one at the entrance.
Hagia Sophia Mosque
The architecture that changed history – Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque!
An icon of Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia has a long history – first a church, burned down, next another church, destroyed by earthquake, then the world’s largest interior space completed in AD 537.
Built by Roman Emperor Justinian when Istanbul was Contantinople, this architectural masterpiece was the world’s largest cathedral for almost a thousand years. The massive dome was a pioneering achievement which is still a marvel today. With the fall of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) empire to the Ottomans in 1453, the cathedral was turned into a mosque, and minarets and Islamic calligraphy were added.
After visiting the Blue Mosque, which didn’t take me that long because the chaotic crowds weren’t conducive to a lingering visit, I wandered over to the Hagia Sophia. There were only 15-20 people in line to get a ticket so, why not? I bought a ticket and went on in.
I really enjoyed visiting this mosque. Unlike the Blue Mosque which is free, Hagia Sophia has a rather steep entry fee and visitors are restricted to the upper level, the ground floor is only for prayer. There were plenty of visitors and tour groups in waves but the atmosphere was much calmer compared to the Blue Mosque. There’s also an audio guide you can use at stations around the mosque to explain the different elements and mosaics and paintings that remain from its Orthodox roots.
When it was a church, the Hagia Sophia was covered in mosaics. They were covered up when it became a mosque, then during restorations many were uncovered.
One of the mysterious and fun things to see in the Hagia Sophia are the Viking runes carved into the marble on one of the railings. The inscription basically says “Halfdan was here.”
When the cathedral was turned into a mosque, huge wooden calligraphic medallions were added with the names of Allah, Mohammed and his grandsons, and 4 caliphates.
A wonderful building with a fascinating and complex history, from centuries ago to more recent times when it was turned back into a mosque from the museum and UNESCO site it was for decades.
The Basilica Cistern
The most fascinating sight in all of Istanbul – the Basilica Cistern.
The dramatic lighting, the towering columns, the amazing engineering… if you’re ever seen a movie that had scenes with the Basilica Cistern in it you’ll want to see this fascinating place for yourself, I sure did!
The cistern is enormous and it’s old, built back in 532 AD during the Roman/Byzantine Emperor Justinian’s reign. The cistern was in use for centuries, water was fed into it from the even older aqueduct system built by Emperor Hadrian from far away Belgrade Forest.
Aside from the rows of ancient columns, repurposed from even more ancient temples, there’s two mysterious Medusa heads, one upside down and another sideways. It’s believed that the placement of the heads was to remove their magical power.
The dimly lit cistern, rows of magnificent columns, ancient upside down Gorgon heads, ancient peacock-eyed or Hercules club column, along with modern artwork make a walk through the cistern an unforgettable experience.
3 Top Sights in One Day?
I didn’t expect to get to my top 3 must see sights, plus a 2.5 hour walking tour all the same day! My day started with a 10:30 walking tour and I was lucky with short lines on a Friday afternoon. Part of the walking tour was a visit to the Grand Bazaar – another check off the must see list. There was even MORE to this day. After the Hagia Sophia mosque I went to the Hagia Sophia Experience museum, part of the ticket I bought and a fun and different way to learn some more history.
Not expecting any more line magic to happen this day, I wandered by the Basilica Cistern after the Experience, saw there were only a few people in the queue and got in within 10 minues. 3 top sights in one day, plus the Grand Bazaar and Hagia Sophia Experience Museum. Magic!
The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams
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